Play.com breach compromises customer names and email addresses

Play.com, one of the largest online retailers of CDs, DVDs, books and gadgets, has notified its customers of a breach that possibly resulted in their names and email addresses being compromised.

According to the email the company sent out, the breach actually happened to the company that handles part of its marketing communications. It also made sure to point out that no other personal customer information has been compromised.

“Please do be vigilant with your email and personal information when using the internet. At Play.com we will never ask you for information such as passwords, bank account details or credit card numbers. If you receive anything suspicious in your email, please do not click on any links and forward the email on to privacy@play.com for us to investigate,” the company advised its customers in an effort to prevent phishing attacks misusing the gathered information.

Sophos advises Play.com customers to go the extra mile and change their account password and keep an eye on their credit card transactions.

“This incident is a stark reminder that an organization’s security and reputation is often dependent on the behavior of third parties,” commented Ross Brewer, VP of LogRhythm. “Few firms monitor the internal workings of their IT infrastructures, so have little idea how hackers roam around the network in search of valuable information. By stipulating that suppliers must deploy log management solutions, organizations can not only gain forensics into how an attack spreads, they can also receive alerts about any suspicious behavior, enabling them to prevent a damaging breach from happening in the first place.”